Stay With Me
by awfullychocolate
Summary: Bella goes on a week long stay with Edward, courtesy of Alice's influence on Charlie. Will this be a romantic holiday of sorts, or will continually staying in each other's presence be too much for the happy couple?


"Bye Dad!" I nearly sang, as Edward lifted my luggage into the trunk of his car.

Charlie rolled his eyes at my enthusiasm. "Bye, Bells. Have fun, and don't forget to call me once in a while."

"Sure, Dad. Don't worry, Carlisle and Esme will be there." I was going to stay with Edward for a week during the school holidays, courtesy of Alice.

I'd have to get her a thank-you present for all her efforts. Edward thought that going shopping with her without complaining would be a great idea, and I knew it would make her dizzy with excitement. But the thought of going shopping with Alice, not to mention her numerous credit cards, still made me feel very uncomfortable.

Edward started the car and drove out of Charlie's sight. I wondered what Rosalie would say when I reached the house. As far as I knew, though she was remorseful about what had happened with the Volturi, she was still upset that I was considered a part of her family, and she hated me for threatening the lifestyle they'd led for years. I trembled in fear, and thinking I was cold, Edward released my hand from his grasp. I looked down into my lap, thanking God yet again that I was the one person whose thoughts he couldn't hear. He grabbed a jacket from the back seat and handed it to me; the car didn't swerve an inch. I sighed. I still wasn't used to his expert driving skills.

He smirked in response.

I put the jacket on and stared at his perfect face, his perfect features. His soft, burnished gold eyes, sharp, tall nose, and full, sensuous lips; I couldn't get used to the fact that he was mine. I blushed when I realized how stupid I looked, staring at him with my mouth wide open.

He stopped the car. Of course, we'd already reached. I shook my head at his speeding habits before getting out of the car and admiring the beautiful, timeless house. It was an amazing work of art. How ironic that a coven of vampires lived inside it.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yes, let's go." I passed him his jacket as we walked, I wouldn't need it inside the house.

I could hear the television; I wondered who was watching it. We stepped inside, where Carlisle and Esme were standing next to the grand piano. I felt an awkward sense of déjà vu, this was where they stood the first time I entered the house.

"Hi Carlisle, hi Esme. I love your home." I grimaced, that was such a stupid thing to say. Edward squeezed my hand.

Emmett ran down from upstairs. "No, you love Edward!"

I blushed and looked down. "Hi, Emmett."

"Emmett!" Esme scolded. "Don't make her feel awkward."

"It's okay, Esme." I felt bad that he was being told off because of me.

"Of course it's okay. Emmett can say anything he wants. This is his home. Not hers." Rosalie had come downstairs, and her beautiful voice was scathing. Edward growled in response.

Then I heard Emmett say "Rose", but his angry words became too low and fast for me to understand. Rosalie answered quickly and vehemently, it sounded like they were having a terrible argument. I was grieved that Emmett and Rosalie were still fighting because of me. I didn't know what came over me, but suddenly, I ran out of the house, utterly overwhelmed.

Once I saw Edward's car, I felt incredibly stupid. I'd definitely hurt Esme's feelings by leaving so abruptly. Not knowing what else to do, I slowly sank down and sat on the grass until Edward came and sat with me. I saw the hurt on his face and felt like kicking myself. I stood up and immediately wiped my tears away; I would be brave if it could erase his hurt. "Sorry. I think I'm just having mood swings. You know, teenager symptoms. Let's go back inside." My reasoning was absolutely ridiculous, but Edward humoured me.

"Are you sure? Do you want to go somewhere else? Should we check into a hotel by the beach?" I shook my head, his generous words making me even more remorseful.

"I could bring you straight to my room. We'll use the window, we don't have to meet the others yet," he offered.

"No, it's okay. I want to apologize to Carlisle and Esme." He held my hand as we walked into the house. I was relieved to see that Rosalie and Emmett were nowhere in sight. When I saw Esme's face, regret coursed through me, mingled with a fresh sense of humiliation. I bit my lip, and my face reddened. "Carlisle, Esme, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to behave like that." Esme opened her arms in a hug, and I ran forward and squeezed her tight.

When she released me, Edward grabbed me and flew to his room. Before I realized what was happening, I was lying on his bed and he was kissing me everywhere, my lips, my hair, my face. I wanted to apologize to him, but he didn't give me a chance to speak. I couldn't remember my name. I didn't try to respond, didn't run my fingers through his bronze-coloured hair. Instead, I smiled as he kissed me, closing my eyes and enjoying the feeling of his cold hard lips all over my skin. He kissed me far longer than he had ever done...

"Bella?"

"Hmm?" I opened my eyes and stared into liquid gold eyes.

"I was just wondering if you'd fallen asleep. Usually you'd be all over me, trying to force me to take off my clothes. Although I really can't understand why you'd bother forcing a vampire to do something he doesn't want to do."

"Because I know the vampire actually wants to do it."

He grinned. "Are you hungry? You should eat; you'll need the energy for what Alice is planning for you later."

I thought about what that could mean and cringed, then recovered and reached up to touch his cheek. "You are very good at distractions. What's for lunch?"

"Something I made before I left to pick you up."

I jumped up and went downstairs. "Where's everyone?"

"They've gone hunting. They'll be gone for two days. I lied about Alice." He grinned, taking the food out of the fridge and popping it into the microwave.

"You have a microwave oven?" I asked incredulously. I'd never noticed it before.

"Esme and I are practising different recipes. Esme likes to bake, but I prefer cooking different dishes. I like watching you eat full meals I made for you."

He placed the food and cutlery in front of me before I had the chance to feel embarrassed. "Kitsune Udon. Enjoy!"

I didn't know how hungry I was until I smelled the noodles. I ate quickly, and they tasted perfect. Not too salty, not too sweet. "Mm, this is good. The noodles are perfectly chewy." I sighed in content. "I didn't know you mastered the art of Japanese food, too." I picked up the beancurd skin with my chopsticks and savoured the refreshing, sweet taste, and the intriguing texture, almost like an omelette. The beancurd skin took on the flavour of the braising sauce perfectly, a delicious mix of soy sauce, sugar and sweet rice wine.

"Are you done?" Edward asked. I nodded, and while he washed the cutlery in the sink, I admired his face for the billionth time. He was so perfect. Clear yet deep eyes, a tall sharp nose, lips that would crush any model's ego, and skin that was so milky and smooth. My eyes wandered to his chest, where he was muscular, but not bulky. His arms were well-toned, and his every movement was so graceful. He ducked his head. "You're looking at me so intently. It makes me feel self-conscious."

"Don't be," I said. For some reason, my voice was husky. Maybe the soup had scalded my throat.

He turned and walked towards me, and I pressed my mouth ever so slightly against his before pulling away. He looked surprised, and I didn't blame him. Usually I wasn't so bold. He copied me, leaning forward slightly and pressing his cold hard lips to mine. He pulled away, and I yearned for more. Hearing him growl, a small smile spread across my lips. I got off the chair and stood on my toes. This time, I traced his perfect lips with the tip of my tongue before melding my lips to his stone hard mouth. Shivering, I felt his teeth graze along the side of my face before he kissed me passionately, over and over again. I pulled away to breathe, but his lips did not leave my skin; they just travelled up and down my neck.

I didn't know what to do next. In my own room, yes, I might have kissed him as if I were demented. But this was his house, and I didn't know why, but I suddenly felt awkward kissing him in his dining room, even though I knew that nobody else was in the house. Truth be told, that thought made me even more nervous. I was here, alone, with him and no one else, and in his house. Charlie was not in the room next to us, and we could do anything we wanted.

Edward looked at me with a questioning look in his eyes, but I just shook my head before placing one hand on the side of his face. "So perfect." I spoke slowly, emphasizing every syllable.

I let my hand fall, but Edward caught it and brought it up to his lips to kiss it, the way some people greet each other. "May I have this dance?" My brow furrowed. Dance? I caught sight of Edward's face, and my fear of dancing evaporated. I played along and curtsied, pretending to hold on to an imaginary skirt. Edward hummed a song and we danced to it, following his lead. I tripped too many times to count, but he didn't let me fall. I felt safe with him, I admitted to myself. I smiled at the thought.

He ended the song he was humming and we both bowed to each other, signalling the end of the dance. I giggled; I'd never done anything like that before, dancing in someone's living room.

"Edward?" I felt slightly apprehensive about asking him my next question. "Can we play chess?"

He looked perplexed. "Chess?"

I blushed. "Well, besides your games against Alice, you probably haven't played a fair game in the last few decades, and I was wondering if I could change that status."

He disappeared for all of two seconds before I saw him sitting at the dining table with a chess set in front of him, all the pieces neatly laid out. "Would you prefer black or white, love?"

I grinned. "Black."

Playing chess with Edward was interesting. I would move a piece, and he would furrow his marble brow, leaving me wondering if he was thinking about which piece to move next, or whether he was trying to read my thoughts, something we both now knew was impossible.

At one point, while I was considering whether to move my castle or my knight, he leaned over the table and planted a kiss on my forehead. I lost my train of thought, and shifted one of my pawns instead. He immediately moved one of his pieces and proceeded to align my pawn with the many other black pieces along the table. I felt slightly annoyed at myself; I didn't actually intend to move that. Evidently, I couldn't concentrate when he was around.

"Checkmate." Edward said triumphantly, after we had moved a couple more pieces. I looked at the chess board and frowned. My black king was being cornered. Edward's white queen was a square in front of my king, and his white bishop was diagonally behind his queen.

"Shucks. And I was just looking forward to beating you." I pouted. I didn't really expect to win, but I was hoping he would go easy on me.

"You did, actually. I'm disqualified. I cheated by kissing you."

"You can read my mind now?"

He laughed gaily. "No, it was obvious. You were looking at this end of the board," he gestured towards my left, where my castle was still standing, "and after I kissed you, you suddenly moved your pawn, which was at the other end of the board. So I obviously distracted you, and you win this round."

"Who on earth disqualifies himself from a game?"

"An honest person?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, you're the most honest person I've ever met!" I laced my voice with sarcasm.

"Thank you for your compliment, Miss Swan."

"You're welcome, Mr Cullen." I wondered why we were being so formal.

"I love you." His voice was silky, yet had an edge of ferocity that made my heart splutter hyperactively.

"I love you too." My tone was passionate, but I knew it was nothing compared to the rich, musical timbre of his voice.

He walked towards me and pulled me up to a standing position before putting his hands around my waist. "You are so beautiful." He kissed my forehead.

Flushing as if I were on fire, I looked down and stared at the perfect contours of his chest, struggling to calm my erratic breathing. I concentrated on the rise and fall of his shoulders and tried to breathe at the same pace. He lifted my chin with one hand, and I jerked slightly at seeing the full force of his scorching gold eyes.

Suddenly my entire being ached to touch him, to kiss him. The intensity of this lustful desire surprised me, I found myself using all my strength not to give in to it. Heaven knows what would happen if I did. My breaths came in short, quick gasps, and I fought to gain control of myself.

I felt light-headed and nauseous as I hyperventilated. I must have look agonized, because Edward's eyes widened in concern.

"Bella, are you okay?" The angel's voice was pained. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Can we play Snakes and Ladders?" Anything to distract myself from this new, strange, powerful craving. No, it was more than just a craving. It was a need, so severe it was excruciating.

"Since when have you become so addicted to board games?" Edward's voice was still strained, worried.

"Snakes and Ladders is a game of luck. I want a chance to win this time. Or do you have practice in throwing dice too?" The lust faded slowly as I made a weak attempt to tease him.

"Challenging me?" He grinned and I suppose I blinked, because the next moment we were sitting on opposite sides of the dining table again, with the board game already spread out on the table.

"I'll go first. I want the red marker." I announced. Edward shrugged and took the green marker.

After throwing the die many times, I finally managed to get to the hundred mark. "I win! I win! I win!" I jumped up and down, filled with a child-like excitement.

Edward looked amused. "If I had known that you would be so happy, I would have let you win the chess game, too."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "I've finally beaten you in a board game."

He smiled and leaned forward. "It's the first time someone has beaten me in Snakes and Ladders."

"Really?" I couldn't stop the grin that was spreading across my face.

"Yes, love. This is also the first time I've ever played a full game of Snakes and Ladders."

I frowned. "You haven't played before?"

"Every time anyone tries to play, Alice immediately shouts out the winner. She's tried to control herself before, but never managed to let anyone finish a game. Her record was when the marker was at the sixty-first square." He shrugged.

I felt my shoulders sag. "Oh. So have you ever lost to anyone else?"

"Bella, none of those games count, they were never finished. Since I can read Alice's mind, I'd know who would win or lose, too. So I've never touched the game, since I would be able to see the outcome even before I manage to roll the die."

"Then what about chess? Can't Alice see the outcomes of your chess games?"

"Yes, but Jasper likes chess. So she usually goes hunting or shopping whenever Jasper wants to play a game, so she won't be tempted to predict the winner of the game."

"I'm guessing Jasper doesn't like Snakes and Ladders."

Edward nodded. "Yes, he thinks it's a waste of time."

"Have you guys tried playing Risk? I bet he'll love it. Plus, it involves a bit of luck, so you won't always win." A bubble of laughter escaped my lips. My euphoric mood made me easily delighted.

"No, we haven't. I'll pick that up soon. What's it about?"

"Huh. It's incredibly complex and it's going to take ages to explain, but I'll try." I frowned as I collected my thoughts. "Risk is a board game, there's a world map printed on the board. It's split into a lot of territories, and everyone gets many tiny plastic soldiers as markers, a different colour for each player. Each player rolls a die, and the person who rolls the highest number picks one territory first, and places 1 soldier on it. The next person picks another territory, until all territories are claimed."

"Okay, so you put soldiers of a particular colour on the territories you own?"

"Yeah. After that's all set up, with each turn, you'll get at least 3 more plastic soldiers as reinforcements. You can get more if you have more territories, conquer entire continents, or use a Power card you've acquired. After placing the reinforcements on any of your own territories, you can choose to attack territories adjacent to your own, but that's optional."

"How does attacking work?"

"To attack, you pick one of your own territories to attack from. You can attack as many territories as you want, as many times as you want, as long as your opponent's territory is adjacent to one of your own."

"How do you win an attack?"

"You throw up to 3 dice, depending on how many soldiers you have on your territory. If you've 2 soldiers, you get 1 die, if you've 3, you get 2 dice, and anything more gets 3 dice. It's the same for the defending army, except they get a maximum of 2 dice. If you roll a higher number than your opponent, you remove 1 troop from your opponent's territory. If you roll a lower number, you remove 1 troop from your own territory. If you clear out all the opponents' soldiers, you can move your soldiers over. The minimum number to move is the number of dice you threw. If you gain at least 1 area of territory, you get to draw a card."

"And the aim of the game is to acquire the most territory?"

I nodded, pleased that he was able to follow my verbal explanation. "My uncle is totally brilliant at this, my cousins and I can never beat him." My lips curved into a smile. "I'd love to watch you play against him.

Suddenly, Edward frowned, as if he were trying to recall something. "Bella, could you please go to my room and watch a movie on your own? I need to do something important." He saw the blank incomprehension on my face and tried to reassure me. "I'll still be in the house; I just can't let you see what I'm doing." He grinned deviously. "It's a surprise."

I eventually gave up trying to dissuade him from preparing for the surprise, and trudged up the stairs in defeat. Everyone knew I hated surprises, yet he still wanted to subject me to my private version of torture. In that case, I would just have to have to content myself with his extensive movie collection. I entered his room and searched the drawers nearest to the door; he said he kept the movie discs there. Looking through the three whole drawers filled with movies, I found the one I wanted – The Pacifier – and a note.

I unfolded the piece of paper, which read:

Bella,

Edward is doing something fantastic for you tonight, so don't spoil it for him. Do him a favour and go into my room; change into the dress I left on my 's matching jewellery on my dressing table. It'll mean a lot to Edward, you can thank me later. Have a great night!

Love, Alice

I sighed inwardly. Alice was going to be the death of me. Not wanting to disappoint her, I put the disc into the DVD player and hit "Play" before stepping into her room. Closing the door as quietly as I could, I took a deep breath before looking at the dress. To my surprise, it was perfect. A simple little black dress in a fine wool crepe, it had a classic bateau neckline and a tiny black ribbon tied around its empire waist. I undressed quickly and lifted the dress from the bed.

Then I pressed my hand to my mouth to stop myself from screaming. Underneath the dress lay the sexiest, boldest underwear I'd ever seen in my entire life. Black and lacey with hints of red; it showed absolutely no sign of decency. It was probably what girls wore when they went to a nightclub in the hope of seducing a man.

Shuddering at the thought, I put it on reluctantly before stepping into the dress, cursing Alice under my breath. I walked over to her dressing table and breathed a sigh of relief. At least the jewellery was simple. The silver necklace with the dainty heart-shaped pendant was actually quite pretty. Stepping back, I looked in the mirror, and I had to confess, I didn't look so bad. Maybe I should thank Alice after all.

I walked back into Edward's room, where the DVD player was still running. I sat on his couch and watched the rest of the movie. When I finished, I rummaged through the drawers until I found "Pocahontas". It was my favourite Disney classic, followed closely by Mulan. I was about to put the disc into the player when Edward came in.

"You changed?" We asked each other at the same time. Edward had put on a black blazer over a formal white shirt and jeans.

"Alice's idea." We said this together, before exploding into laughter.

"Shall we go downstairs?" He offered me his right arm, and I was thankful that Alice had chosen a knee-length dress. I was sure Edward wouldn't let me fall, but I still didn't want to step on the dress and trip. After precariously walking down the stairs, I surveyed the dining room and gasped in wonder.

The lights were dimmed, giving off a refined gold brilliance. I could faintly make out the rose petals that were strewn all over the white marble floor, giving off a mild floral scent throughout the room. Two distinct lines of candles marked out a path which led to one of the chairs around the dining table; I presumed that seat was mine. Soft music played in the background, and though I thought this was much too extravagant for dinner, I had to admit that the ambience was warm and inviting.

I felt Edward steer me to the seat, then I noticed what he'd placed on the table. A single set of cutlery and a simple obsidian plate with an elegant design was placed before me, and in front of the ensemble stood a clear glass vase with beautiful red roses. Candles of various colours and lengths were placed around the vase, further lighting up the room.

A candlelight dinner? Interesting. Edward didn't really strike me as a passionate romantic.

He served me as if we were in a restaurant and he was the waiter, starting with an appetizer which I believed to be escargot in some sort of gravy. Following that, I was treated to a fine variation of mashed potatoes before being served a sinful amount of spaghetti Bolognese. Throughout the three-course meal, my glass found itself constantly refilled with Chardonnay, my favourite white wine.

Throughout the meal, Edward busied himself with presenting each dish to me, pouring wine to fill up my glass, and washing the dirty plates so quickly that I hardly noticed. For the most part, he was sitting opposite me and looking at me attentively, while both of us engaged in casual conversation. I thought he seemed nervous, but brushed it off quickly. This was Edward I was talking about.

I had just finished swallowing the last bite of the spaghetti when Edward moved from his seat opposite me and came to kneel beside me. No, definitely not to propose, he knelt down on both knees and looked me in the eyes so intensely that I knew I would have collapsed if I weren't sitting down.

"Bella, please promise me something." His voice was filled with such desperation that my breath caught. Before I had the chance to speak, he continued, "I don't know… I don't know if what Alice told me… if that was true… please promise me… promise me you won't feel inadequate in any way." He'd said the last part in a rush, but his words carried the burning intensity of his feelings.

Yet I'd never heard him speak so hesitantly, never heard his voice falter so many times, as if he was afraid, as if he was in pain. I wanted nothing more than to offer comfort, to tell him it was all okay.

I looked away, my cheeks flaming. I couldn't think of a suitable response to his request. He was superior to me in every possible way, how could he expect me not to feel inadequate? I would never let him know this, but I struggled with this issue almost daily. I was hopelessly afraid he would abandon me, because I knew better than anyone else that should he decide to leave, he could do it easily. After all, hadn't he done it before? He had absolutely no incentive to stay. Even though he had promised never to leave me, I wouldn't – couldn't – allow myself to believe that he would stay forever.

I struggled to form a reply, but the moment I looked at his face, I knew that honesty would be the only way out. "I... I, I can't." I stuttered like an idiot.

He spoke in a quiet, thoughtful tone. "Please explain that to me." Edward put his head in my lap, and I knew that he wasn't angry at me. That made it slightly easier to speak, but it didn't eradicate my anxiety.

My voice was constricted with emotion when I answered. "I don't think I'm good enough for you." I bit my lip and looked down again, my words coming out in a rush. "I'm grateful that you're with me now, but I'm scared that you'll leave me again. I can't help feeling that I can't match up to you. You're so accomplished, and I can barely –" My breath hitched, and I couldn't go on.

I realized that I was crying, my tears flowing freely now. It was incredibly frustrating, that whenever Edward asked me anything, I would cave in and reveal my innermost thoughts and feelings, even when they were secrets I wanted to keep.

I was aware of being jerked forward before I found myself on Edward's bed. His voice was unintentionally alluring, but a hint of frustration coloured his tone. "I will prove to you that you're not inadequate. You're precious to me, and you will believe that I love you and need you more than ever." He caressed my face while murmuring something about self-worth, but I didn't catch it. He touched my face over and over, but I refused to budge. I let him comfort me while I tried to stop crying like a five-year-old.

"When I was away, I was counting the minutes until I would come crawling back to you. I was thinking of ways to beg for forgiveness, of how to win you back from Mike or Tyler or whoever might've caught your eye when I was gone."

But I couldn't allow myself to hope he'd feel this way forever, knowing these words would hurt me like knives if he ever left again. "Stop," I pleaded, and my voice broke without my permission.

A battle raged in his eyes, and then they were as still as stones, painted over with a layer of sadness. "Why won't you believe me?"

I offered him a ghost of a smile. "Why would I?" I almost whispered.

Edward stared at me with a look that would have stopped a train. "You're right. I'm sorry. Bella, I'm terribly sorry. I broke your trust in me, and I'm going to have to fix that. I'm here for the long haul, and I'll be here until you can believe that again."

I knew building my conviction had to do with his credibility and my self-confidence, none of which seemed secure at this point.

He couldn't seem to stop talking. "I love how you stand up for what you love, how you can defend things like 'Romeo and Juliet' even when others don't view things your way. I love how you're responsible and hardworking and incredibly disciplined. I love how you're witty and brilliant, how you're one of the kindest and most compassionate people I've ever known.

I love your selfless devotion to those you love, the way you love your family, how you're overly responsible and take care of both Charlie and Renee, because you know they need you. I need you, Bella. I need you to take care of me too. Who else would love me through my terrible temper and my caustic words? I'm so incredibly lucky to have you."

I blushed with so much heat in my face, I might almost have caught fire. The euphoria I felt then could not be expressed in words. I found it painfully hard to breathe. At that moment at least, I knew that I meant more to him than anyone else in the world.

"I love you, Bill." I gave him a sly smile as I referenced the Lewinsky scandal.

He smiled the beautiful, crooked smile that I loved. "Love you too, Monica."


End file.
